Robin Horsfall was born in Farnham, Surrey, UK. Following a divorce from his birth father, his mother Hazel married his step-father, who adopted him and gave him the name Horsfall. A broken family life adversely affected his education, so he left school in 1972 at the age of fifteen and... Read more
Robin Horsfall was born in Farnham, Surrey, UK. Following a divorce from his birth father, his mother Hazel married his step-father, who adopted him and gave him the name Horsfall. A broken family life adversely affected his education, so he left school in 1972 at the age of fifteen and joined the army as a boy soldier.
Despite a long period of isolation and bullying by his peers, he became a full member of the Parachute Regiment in 1974 and served three tours of Northern Ireland. In 1978 he volunteered for SAS selection and passed on his second attempt in March 1979. He went on to qualify as a Paramedic and Sniper.
He was a member of the SAS counter terrorist team that assaulted the Iranian Embassy in London in 1980, helping to rescue the nineteen hostages who had been held for six days.
Robin has had an extraordinary life and has been speaking about it at events both small and large for over 10 years. During his talks, attendees will discover fascinating stories from his extensive military career and how they relate to his underlying theme of overcoming adversity.
Robin Horsfall was a boy soldier at fifteen, a paratrooper at seventeen and an SAS soldier at twenty-one. He fought in five wars as a front line soldier, was a Royal Marine Sniper and a top bodyguard. He was also one of the UK’s first Paramedics and ran clinics all over the world. He once built a medical centre in the centre of the Guyana Jungle, but there is more.
In 1992 he started to teach martial arts and for twenty years taught thousands of children karate in South West London building the largest independent children’s karate group in Europe. He broke his neck and while recovering went to Surrey University as a mature student (56) and graduated three years later.
Robin Horsfall is currently active fighting for the Northern Ireland Veterans Movement a battle he has led for six years. He recently survived bladder cancer, writes books and now lives in South Wales. Robin is a great grandfather and has been married for forty years to his wife Heather. Robin condenses his considerable story into an hour and then allows time for questions.